Devil InPROTO's Creed
by The Prancing Jaeger
Summary: Four men, all who gave up their lives in one way or another. These four, who thought their stories were done, are now about to begin a brand new story. The electric man, Cole MacGrath. The killer virus, Alex Mercer. The half-demon son of Sparda, Vergil. The one who holds the truth, Desmond. These four will work together to save worlds from ruin, getting even stronger along the way.
1. Mission Start!

This is the first and last Author's note I'll do, because i really don't like having it say like "3000 words" and have it actually be only 1500 words of story. Anyway, I decided a reset would be for the best. I was giving a bare minimal effort to you guys, i realize that now. So I restarted it, and I now, here you go. I present to you the revamped version of this story. In the words of Pit..."Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Devil InPROTO's Creed

Chapter 1- Second chances

Location: Unknown

It was a large, white space, a blank landscape. Nothing as far as the eye could see except for pure, unmarred blinding white. However, within this barren expanse lay four bodies, all male, parallel in posture and spaced a few feet from each other.

The first was a handsome white haired gentleman, dressed in a blue trench coat with gold trimming, and a black vest underneath, along with a gold amulet around his neck. His pants were black, dress pants, and he wore brown boots. In his left hand there was an O-katana, with a black sheath. Even unconscious, one could feel how regal and powerful he was.

The next person was a man wearing a white shirt with gray sleeves. He had a buzz cut, and He wore blue track pants with a large white union jack on the right leg, and some Puma shoes. To his right was an orange sling bag. The very air around him seemed rife with electricity, as if he himself was charged with static.

After that was a man wearing a black leather jacket, under which lied a Grey hoodie, with a white dress shirt above it. On the back of the leather jacket was a tribal design, similar in look to the bio hazard symbol. He wore some black jeans with brown dress shoes. Oddly enough, he wasn't breathing, and yet he still looked alive. Every once in a while, red and black tendrils danced around his form.

The final man wore a white hooded jacket, with a pointed hood, like that of a beak. He wore black jeans and he had on two brown bracers, one on each arm. He also wore some brown boots, which seemed a bit scuffed. He seemed to be the most normal out of all of them, although for some reason it seemed like reality itself was uneasy around him.

The four men began to stir from their slumber, and they sat up in unison. They all looked at each other, and they each reacted the same way, jumping away from each other. The first man drew his sword, but it was broken, causing a look of shock, then anger to cross his face. The gray clad one's hands began sparking, but then they fizzled out, causing him to groan. The third's arms started to shift in swirling red and black tentacles, but after a few seconds, reverted back to normal arms, causing him to step back in confusion, patting his back. The final person twitched his arms, and hidden blades popped out of his bracers. However, they, like the first man's katana, were rusted and broken.

This did not stop them from holding an offensive pose however, as they all stood still, each looking at the other carefully. "Who are you?" asked the one wearing the white shirt to the blue trench coated guy. "None of your business" he calmly replied. Spotting his bag, the electricity user reached for it, only for the platinum blond to hold his sword up to his throat. This caused the black leather wearing individual to crack his knuckles, ready for a fight.

Meanwhile, the one wearing the white jacket looked at each of them and then sheathed his hidden blades and relaxed his pose. "Hey, guys, calm down. We just woke up in the middle of nowhere, and obviously our weapons of choice are in no condition to be used. I say we work together and figure this all out. I say we introduce ourselves. I'm Desmond Miles."

The white haired person looked at him strangely, then slowly nodded, sheathed his sword and said, "Vergil. I am Vergil."

The man in the gray hood individual relaxed as well. "Fine then, Alex Mercer."

They all looked at the last person, who sighed and said, "Cole Macgrath, at your service."

"Okay, so, now that we know who we all are, let's find out where we are." said Desmond, looking around. "Well, it's a giant white landscape, so…..heaven?" joked Cole.

Alex smirked and said, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be going to heaven, after all that I've done. It's gonna take more than saving a city from a nuke to make up for what I did. Infecting a city, killing countless people, almost enslaving the entire human race….well, regardless, I'm not supposed to be in heaven." drawled Alex. Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. "What? I'm a virus, it's what I do. Infect, and all that good stuff."

"No, no, that isn't important, but, what's this about surviving a nuke?" asked Desmond.

"Whoa, no, let's focus on this 'I'm a Virus' part." said Cole, curious.

Vergil just looked at them, before returning to look at his beloved sword. "Well, I'm basically a giant virus in human form. I can shape shift and all this other icky stuff that we don't need to get into." responded Alex. "And anyway, you aren't human yourself, Cole, was it?"

"What do you mean, I'm not human?"

"I mean you've got bones and stuff, but you feel stronger than normal humans. Well that and your hands were sparking.."

"Oh, that. I'm a conduit. we're humans with superpowers, basically. My power is control over electricity, and I'd show you, but, I'm all out of energy."

"Huh. That's pretty cool, I guess. And as for the out of energy part, I know what you mean. I'm out of biomass, but my thermal vision and stuff work fine."

Cole was confused. "Thermal vis- Can you fly too or what?"

"Kinda."

"Damn, that's just unfair!"

Meanwhile, Desmond was staring at Vergil, curious about him.

"So, you're human, right?" asked Desmond.

"Half." responded Vergil without looking.

"But you seem so normal. What are you then?"

"Half Human, Half devil."

"Half devil, huh….strange. You aren't gonna harvest my soul or anything, are you?

"Not unless you severely irk me."

"I'll keep that in mind…."

"Good."

While the four men were getting to know each other and getting over their tension, they didn't notice the giant being of light watching them from above, until it spoke.

"Hello Alex, Cole, Vergil, and Desmond."

The men looked froze and looked up.

"What the..." uttered Alex, confounded.

"I see you all are getting well acquainted with one another, regardless of how different you all are. As well you should, because I have need of the four of you, as a team."

"You are curious as to why you are here, and how you are still alive. I shall tell you. I have brought you here, resurrected you. You see, I need you four's assistance in a small matter. The four of you have each saved the world in one way shape or form before. I need you to save a few more."

At this, Vergil spoke up. "I have not saved any world. In fact, I almost destroyed the one I'm from."

Alex nodded. "Same here, I tried to take over my world and kill off the human race."

After hearing what Vergil and Alex said, the being looked at them and smiled. "Actually, you two saved it indirectly. Vergil, you gave your brother the strength and abilities necessary to defeat you, and then all others who threatened the world. This would not have happened had you not resurrected the Temen-Ni-Gru. And Alex, you saved that city that almost destroyed you from the nuke at the cost of your own life. You did what was necessary to survive. Having to rebuild yourself from just a crow to use as biomass really messed up your mind, so your priorities got shifted from Alex's, to the Viruses. You thought you were in control, but you weren't. So, you saved the world from yourself by infecting James Heller, who later killed you and ended the infection."

The two pondered this for a second, and then nodded at these explanations. "Now, you may have noticed your lack of biomass, weapons and electricity. When you arrive at where I'm sending you, you will be restored, along with a little extra for your sacrifices."

"What do you mean, 'a little extra?'" asked Cole.

"Well, in your case, Cole, you used the RFI to sacrifice yourself and your fellow conduits, saving the world. So I am giving you three things: The power of the fully charged RFI, your old powers will be restored to you, and your evil half's powers will be granted to you."

"Oh, sweet lord I can FLY AGAIN!" yelled Cole, ecstatic and elated.

The being just smiled, and turned to Alex. "Alex, your powers have been fully upgraded, and you can acquire more, and you can hold a near infinite amount of biomass."

Alex's smirk grew even wider, to where you could see his sharp teeth.

"Desmond, you have all your ancestor's abilities and weaponry available to you, as well as the power of the Apple of Eden. Use it well."

Desmond nodded, and smiled.

"And finally, Vergil, Sparda is yours to command. The sword and the devil trigger form, Sparda, I mean. Also, you can become Nelo Angelo again, albeit you'll be in control."

Vergil looked thoughtful, and said, "I want Beowulf back, as well."

The being nodded, and said, "I thought you might. It is within you, as is Rebellion. Do not worry, it is your brother still has his sword, I just recreated it for you."

Vergil nodded and thanked the being.

"Now, there are some strings attached to these gifts."

"And that is?" asked Alex.

"You have to retrieve them."

Coles smile faded, dread seeping into him. "Oh god, this is going to be just like the blast cores, isn't it?"

"Actually, yes, the upgrades will have different forms for each of you, and there are four of each. Cole's are inside Blast Cores, held by conduits. Desmonds are pieces of Eden, in the possesion of Templars. Vergils are within former enemies he has killed, and Alex's are within biomass containers. Alex, these are basketball sized orbs, filled with biomass. However, these orbs will be inside of blacklight beasts."

The gathered men nodded, prepared for what they would have to face in order to get stronger.

"Until you get these objects, your powers and abilities will be the same as before you died."

Desmond frowned. "I didn't have any powers before I died, though. All I had were a few skills that I got from the bleeding effect."

"You had a piece of Eden before you died, did you not?" the being pointed out, causing Desmond to nod in realization.

"Where is this place that we are going to anyway?" asked Cole.

"I would like to know as well." stated Vergil.

"I am glad you asked. You are going to a world of Ninja, in a village called Konoha. I will have tasks for you four to complete, but, I will give you time to adjust. You can expect me to contact you after at least two of you have gotten one of their upgrades."

"So, the land of Ninja's is where we're headed, huh? Sounds good to me. I might just learn something new while I'm there, heh. Okay, then how will we get there?" questioned Alex.

"Well, kind of like this." said the being. One could almost hear the mirth in his voice.

One second they were all in the white space, the next, they were falling towards the earth.

"I should have figured." sighed Alex, as they hurtled down.

Back in the white void, the being laughed.

"That never gets old. Well, let's see how they do here."

It descended to the ground level, its form changing as it landed. Where there was once a massive being there was now a gentleman, clad in a black suit, with a white mask on covering his face. He leaned back, floating gently in air as though in water, and closed his eyes.

"This time, it'll be different. This I promise, my other."


	2. The new guys

Chapter 2: Jupiter, Minerva, Mars, Mercury

Location: Sky above Konohagakure

Cole Macgrath was falling. Now, this didn't really worry him too much, as most of his time in both Empire City and New Marais was spent in the air, be it jumping or falling. In fact, there were a lot of times that he climbed extremely tall buildings, just to use his Thunder Drop ability. So as Cole hurtled towards the ground at top speed, he took time to ponder what the black being could have possibly wanted them to do here. "Nice view, huh guys?"

"We can admire the view when we aren't hurtling towards the pavement, Macgrath. Let's land first." shouted Alex over the wind.

"Oh, right." said Cole, as he was used to free-falling by now. Then he looked over at the others.

"How are you guys gonna land?" he asked curiously.

Alex simply opened his arms and glided.

Vergil simply smirked and proceeded to devil trigger and fly down.

Desmond panicked for a second, realizing that he had no way to fall safely, until Leonardo's Flying Machine, in pristine condition, materialized in front of him, with a small note saying "Sorry, forgot to give you this."

Cole laughed and said, "Not half bad…." And with that, Cole activated his static thrusters and hovered downward.

Location: Ninja Academy

"Naruto, quit goofing off!" yelled Iruka to one of his students. Iruka was a tall man, Chunnin rank, with a large scar on his face. It seemed to him like the ones who slept in his class were the ones with the most potential. "You too, Shikamaru!" he yelled out.

"Well, at least this day couldn't get any worse…." He thought to himself. "I need a distrac-"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard and something burst through the roof. The entire class jumped back in fright, and Iruka pulled out a Kunai. After a few seconds, the smoke cleared and they all saw that it was a man that burst through, and, strangely enough, he wasn't injured.

"Who are you?" asked Iruka, warily.

The stranger didn't respond right away, rather deciding to continue dusting himself off and coughing, so Iruka asked again. Or at least, he was about to when the stranger raised his hand and coughed a bit.

"Relax, just….just give me a second, I think I ate some roof on the way down..." he coughed out.

"Alright, yeah, that's better. Well, time to go." He chuckled, and started walking away.

Iruka stared in shock, before blocking his path. "Who are you? You can't just burst through my roof and then just casually walk out! You don't have a headband, so you can't be a ninja, so, who and what are you?" he shouted.

"Yeah, and quit trying to be cool like Sasuke-Kun!" This was called out by some girl with bubblegum pink hair.

The stranger smirked and said, "I really don't want to fight, so, please move."

Iruka didn't budge.

"Are you sure you wanna stand in my way?"

Iruka nodded.

The entire class watched with bated breath as the stranger lifted his hand, and a blue mist surrounded it. He then jumped away and threw what was in his hand at Iruka. Iruka did not even have a chance to dodge as he was frozen almost instantaneously.

"Told you, but ya didn't listen."

He then looked over at the class. "Sorry, but, I gotta go. He'll thaw out eventually."

But before he could leave, he was stopped by a kid. The kid was kind of emo looking, and wore a lot of blue. His hair was shaped like a ducks butt, and he had the attitude to match.

"Teach me that." said the emo looking kid.

"Teach you what?"

"That thing you just did!"

"Ohhhh, that? Yeah, no way in hell I'll teach that to you."

At this, the brooding kid got annoyed. "I am an Uchiha! You will obey me!"

Cole laughed. And then he looked at the kids face. And he laughed again, harder this time.

Then he said, "Oh that was hilarious."

The same pink haired girl from earlier yelled out again, "Who are you to laugh at and deny Sasuke-Kun?! He's way stronger than you, you weirdo!"

Cole snorted and continued walking away, wondering just how the heck he got seperated from the others.

"Don't you walk away, you...you demon!"

Cole stopped walking, and smiled, letting the electricity build up around him. Everyone in the room could feel their hairs sticking up on end, and there was the sound of a dog whimpering in the classroom as it's fur started tingling.

"My name is Cole Macgrath. I control electricity. Allow me to show you."

Then he swung his arms down, and a giant thunderbolt sliced through the roof, right next to where the kid was. Then Cole used his lightning hook to grab the girl and pull her over to him. He caught her by the neck and growled, "You're damn right I'm a demon!" And he threw her. Everyone was too shocked and in awe of the man's power to speak. All except one boy, the same from before, Sasuke.

"You WILL teach me that move!" he roared. But Cole just ignored him again, and he pushed past the boy. But Sasuke was persistent, so he ran after Cole, pulling out a kunai and lunging at him. Cole didn't respond, and all the other students gasped and tried to warn him, but at the last second, Cole turned and grabbed Sasuke's face. "You're annoying as hell, kid!." said Cole as he tossed him into the wall, with enough force to embed him into it. With that, Cole walked out of the academy and into the streets to find his new friends.

Location: Hokage tower

The Sandaime Hokage was staring at his most annoying and persistent enemy. That invincible (hail) hydra of mass hysteria and destruction, the overlord of time consumption, the one that all in positions of power have to deal with: Paperwork. Yes, he was stuck at his desk for about three more hours, filling out forms and approving and declining and he was sick of it. He almost wished something would just crash through his roof and-

But he didn't get to finish that thought, for at that exact moment, something crashed through his wall. It looked demonic, with its twin horns and sharp claws. It was very tall, and its reptile like skin was blue, and it looked as if it was wearing a cloak, with some very light armor underneath. It had a sword attached to its left arm, and its sharp teeth gleamed as it grinned. All in all, it looked like something out of a nightmare. His ANBU surrounded the creature, weapons drawn. The creature looked at everyone surrounding it, and then, in a flash of demonic light, blasted them away. When everyone looked, the creature was gone, and in its place was a handsome young man, about the same height as the Hokage, just a tad bit taller, with white hair and a small grin. In his left hand he held an Okatana, and in his right hand he held a gold amulet. His hair was spiky and white, and slicked back. His gaze was that of one who was amused with the current situation. The ANBU all shot up and surrounded him again, this time, with their swords almost stabbing him. Vergil said nothing.

"Who are you?" asked the Hokage.

"No one important, however, your men and women here have three seconds to extricate their weaponry from my direction before I incapacitate them."

The Hokage was not fazed by this, however. "ANBU, take him to Ibiki, see where he's from, what he knows."

Vergil chuckled. "Don't be so cocky."

Vergil, in the blink of an eye, unsheathed and sheathed his sword, Yamato. Everyone stared at him as he slid it back into the sheath, until the blade was fully sheathed with a resounding click.

With that click, everyone's sword got cut into pieces, along with their masks. Besides this, everyone except the Hokage had dozens of cuts appear on them. Everyone fell to the floor, clutching their wounds. With that, Vergil jumped out of the window, off to find his current partners.

Location: Konohagakure Hot springs

Up in the trees, a white-haired male sat watching the women down in the hot springs, chuckling maniacally to himself. "Excellent, my next novel will sell beautifully!" he said, as he continued writing down his perverted thoughts and ideas. At least, until there was a giant crash, which knocked down the tree he was on, causing him to fall and land just on the wall. The (super) perverted toad Sannin Jiraiya flailed his arms in a vain attempt to prevent himself from falling into the women bath. Alas, his attempts to reduce his weight and fly failed, miserably so Jiraiya fell in the bath, right in a ring of women washing each other. And as he looked up, he reacted as any healthy red-blooded male would when surrounded by oh so many beautiful naked women. He had a massive nosebleed, causing him to gush out of danger and back on the other side of the wall, safe for the moment. "That…was amazing." said Jiraiya, as he stood up and brushed himself off. "It's really rare that I end up falling into a hot spring during my research and escape unharmed…this is rare, kinda like Tsunade-hime winning something."

Meanwhile, at a casino somewhere…

"Aaaaachoo!" sneezed out Tsunade, while in the middle of pulling the lever of a particularly promising slot machine. The machine spun and spun….and landed on a cherry and two bars. "Kami dammit all!" she cursed.

Back at the Hot springs

"I wonder what knocked that tree over, though." said Jiraiya, looking around. When he looked behind him, he gasped at what he saw, for what his eyes showed was a man, trapped under the tree , actively trying to pull himself out. Suddenly, the man stopped his ministrations, and Jiraiya went to help him, at least, until the man's arms suddenly flared red and black, little tendrils flying over them, and the tree exploded. Using his arms to shield himself, Jiraiya avoided any major damage, and looked over at the man who (was) stuck in the tree. He was about five foot ten, with brown hair, with a stance not unlike that of a natural predator. He had a hood, though it was down, revealing his tangled brown hair. The man turned, and, seeing Jiraiya, widened his blue eyes in shock and quickly put on his hood.

"Who're you?" asked the man, tentative and terse.

"It's proper and polite to give someone your name before asking theirs." replied Jiraiya, nonchalantly.

The strange man stared at him from beneath his hood, the only feature about him visible being his glowing silver eyes. With the hood adding a certain level of mystique to his shadowy visage, he was rather intimidating.

"Alex Mercer."

"Hmm….that name sounds rather foreign and strange…I'd better find out more about this guy, seeing what he did to that tree, and his lack of a headband, he could be a potential threat." the Toad Sannin thought to himself.

"I am the Toad sage of Konoha, the lover of ladies, and the hater of evil! I am! Jiraiya, member of the Dentetsu no Sannin." Jiraiya proudly said, doing a wild dance in sync of his announcement.

Alex just stared for a bit. Finally, after he had regained his voice, he said "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Absolutely nothing, why do you ask?"

"Don't try and BS me old man."

At this Jiraiya grew sober. "Disrespectful people these days...Anyway, so now that i know who you are, what are you doing here? Are you from another village, or are you seeking out Konoha for a mission?"

Alex shifted through his mind for an excuse. "Actually yes, I've came to with a mission."

"Ah. Well, I shall escort you to the Hokage's office. You'll be able to fill out a request form there."

"Thank you, Mister Jiraiya."

Jiraiya started the trek to the Hokage's office, curious as to what the hooded man's true intentions were. Meanwhile Alex followed the strange, white-haired man, wondering where the others landed, before ultimately shrugging and following Jiraiya.

Location: ANBU Headquarters

Desmond was in a bit of a bind. He seemed to have landed on the roof of some sort of a black ops training facility. Of ninjas. Searching for something or someone to take into custody, and possibly inflict pain upon. "It's just not my lucky day..." Desmond whispered, hood up, from in the rafters.

"I heard something nearby!"

"I think it came from up there!"

"There he is, get him!"

"Oh, son of a-" Desmond started, as he jumped from one rafter to another as wave after wave of sharp kunai came flying at him.

Desmond jumped to a nearby rafter, but there was one of those ninja there, waiting for him. So he dropped down and hung from the rafter before swinging and jumping to a window sill. Just as he got it open, however, a Ninja with an eagle mask on grabbed him and threw him to the floor. Desmond rolled out of the way as several ninja tried to jump on him, and stood up in a fighting position. The masked ninja made a ring around him, ready for his slightest movement. Desmond sighed, resigned. "I guess i have no choice...i don't want to hurt you guys. Are you certain you won't give up?"

The ANBU all looked at each other. They laughed.

"Fine, then."

Desmond pulled out a small piece of Eden, and all the ANBU looked at it.

"It may not be whole, but..."

Desmond held the piece up, and then the ring of ANBU knew no more, collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

"Heh, way too easy."

"Ahem."

Desmond turned around to see a Ninja with a dog mask, and gravity defying silver hair.

"My name is Kakashi, ANBU Black Ops commander, and I demand to know who you are and what you have done to my subordinates."

Desmond chuckled nervously. He seriously doubted he could talk his way out of this one. So, he followed the age old tradition of escape artists: He threw a smoke bomb and bolted, straight out of the window from earlier. As he leapt out the window, he looked down and saw he had ten stories to fall.

"Oh come on, can I not catch a break?!" he yelled as he fell.

"No, but i can catch you." said the man from earlier, standing on the wall holding Desmond's leg.

"You're coming with me." said Kakashi as he used Shunshin to transport Desmond and himself to the Konoha Prison.


	3. Getting Small

Chapter 3- Childhood Remix

ANBU Prison

High Security Cells

"Well this sucks." said Desmond after a minute or two of silence.

"It sure does." agreed Cole, playing with his lightning.

"How the hell did you even get captured?" asked Desmond, curious.

"Well….."

[Flashback]

"Damn kids, ruining my mood by being all annoying….." mumbled Cole, upset about the children that wouldn't stop pestering him earlier.

"HEY!"

"Oh, what now?" he said, turning around.

Suddenly, he was surrounded by ten masked ninjas, known as the ANBU. Cole spun around, looking at each of them, before he relaxed.

"Not even a threat…"

"Target acquired. Your under arrest for the assault of a several ninjas, including children!"

"They had it coming. I was TRYING to leave peacefully…" Cole started, but was cut off by the unsheathing of several katanas and tantos, all pointed his way.

"Why does no one want to do things the easy way?" asked Cole, before unsheathing his amp and pumping electricity into it. He Swung it at the nearest ANBU and their weapons clashed, before he reached over, grabbed the ANBU and fired an alpha bolt into his stomach, pushing him away. Then he ducked under a swing, countering with an electric uppercut, knocking his opponent out. Cole back flipped away, surveying the eight remaining opponents. Suddenly three broke off from the group, charging at him with barely visible speed.

"Too easy!" yelled Cole as he fired off a graviton blast, pushing his opponents into the air, floating. The remaining ANBU looked on in shock, before snapping back to their senses. Sealless jutsu or not, he needed to be brought down.

"Get Him!" yelled the ANBU captain. His four subordinates looked at each other before doing some handsigns. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" they called at the same time.

As they held back chakra, the four fireballs were smaller, and they streaked towards Cole. "Oh boy…..let's hope this works." Said Cole, eyeing the civilians nearby.

Time seemed to stop for a second as Cole thought.

"I could use the ionic vortex, it will get rid of those fireballs, take out those guys, and I can escape, but, it will hit those civilians, too. Or I can use the frost shield, which might not hold up and I'll get injured, but those people will be safe…"

With that, Cole made his choice. Time went back to normal as the Patron Saint of New Marais raised both his hands in front of him and formed a shield out of ice. Seconds later, the fireballs hit, the first two cracking the shield, the third breaking it, and the fourth hitting Cole square in the chest, sending him flying back.

"Gah, that hurt like hell!" exclaimed Cole as he landed flat on his back. Before he could stand up, however, the five conscious ANBU all landed around him, swords drawn and pointed, nearly poking his throat.

"Ah, damnit…"

[Flashback Over]

"Sheesh, Cole, that was pretty heroic of you, there, using the shield instead of the FREAKING TORNADO! You can make TORNADOES?!" yelled Desmond, finally catching on to what Cole said earlier.

"Uh huh, tornadoes, fields of ice spike, lightning strikes, storms, all sorts of stuff."

"When the hell did I wake up in X-Men?!"

At that Cole laughed, before hearing the doors open.

"Hokage wants to see you two. Come on." came a gruff voice.

"Well, let's go see this Hokage, then." said Desmond, standing up along with Cole.

The duo followed the masked ninja to a giant tower, which had a pretty big hole in the roof.

"Well, that's….something." whistled Cole.

"Keep moving!" yelled the guard.

They made the rest of the trip in silence, finally coming to the door of the Hokage's Office.

"Enter!" came the stern voice of the leader of Konohagakure.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had had a long day. First Naruto paints the Hokage Monument, next some sort of…._demon _bursts through his roof. Finally he finds out Jiraiya was back in town and ran into a new, extremely oddly clothed, super weird man who wants to join Konoha with his "team' which just so happens to include the aforementioned Demon, human monster thing and two others!

"This isn't going to go well….." he muttered.

"Well not with that attitude!" smirked the hooded man, his grin causing all who saw it to shudder.

The door opened and in walked Cole and Desmond, both of whom just stared at Alex.

"Okay, so, I get captured, and so does Cole, the only two who are even CLOSE to being sane, and the murderous one and the…creepy..chilly…I don't even KNOW how the hell to describe him! Point is, how in the world did YOU not get arrested?!" yelled Desmond, confused out of his mind.

At this, Alex's smirk grows wider, as he throws a book at Desmond.

"Discretion and stealth for du- You son of a!"

"AHEM!" Hiruzen cleared his throat loudly, and the trio stopped their antics and looked at him.

"You two are wanted for attacking ANBU and a Chunnin. Now, seeing as these were in self-defense, i'm willing to let it slide. However, I want to know who and what you are before I decide what to do."

Cole and Desmond looked at each other. "We're from a land far away from the Elemental Nations, and, we decided to become Shinobi. However, there was a miscalculation with our transportation and we ended up in the sky above Konoha, causing the ruckus you mentioned."

"Well, as you guys aren't Shinobi, judging by your attire and lack of a headband, I cannot let you join. Also, you appear too old to become students at the academy so I can't let you join that way either."

"Not the first time I was told I was too old to do something….." whispered Cole to Alex, who chuckled lightly.

"Well, there MIGHT be a way for us to get…small." said Desmond.

"How small we talking, there, Des?" asked Alex, curious.

"Yes, Desmond, how small?" echoed Cole.

"Hmm…hey, Hokage, what's the average age of these 'academy students' that are graduating later this year?"

"Around twelve or so, why?" replied Hiruzen.

Desmond looked at the others and held up his Shard of Eden.

"Alex, you're made of biomass, so you can regress your age, and Cole, you could use some sort of….electric time thing to age back. And me, I can use this."

All three of the other guys eyes widened.

"Oh, Duh!" exclaimed Alex and Cole at the same time.

"What are you talking about, Desmond What's biomass?" asked Hiruzen.

Instead of answering, however, the three just used their powers.

Alex disappeared in a cocoon of roiling black and red tentacles, which shrunk down before absorbing back into his skin. In his place stood a miniature Alex, his clothing remaining the same, just shrunk to fit on his body.

"Wow, that actually worked….." muttered Cole. "Well, if it worked for Kessler in one way, maybe it can work for me, too, in a different way."

Cole gathered all his electricity to his hands, forming spheres of lightning with them, before slamming them together. A dense orb of electricity surrounded him, causing the four ANBU in the room to jump out of their hiding places and take guarding positions around the Hokage. The orb slowly compacted, before spinning rapidly and shrinking around the hand of a smaller Cole, looking like a 12 year old version of himself wearing a smaller version of his track pants and courier outfit, with a sphere of lightning spinning in his hand. Cole clenched his fist and the orb disappeared.

His clothing took on a smaller size, and his backpack was still slung around his back. Unfortunately it was still adult sized, along with the Amp.

"Oh god damnit you've got to be kidding me!" Cole yelled, staring at his fallen Backpack and Amp.

Alex laughed at Cole's misfortune, only to have the Amp thrown at him. It pierced him and imbedded him into the wall.

"Oh, well, I kept my strength, then. Cool." said Cole, nonchalant.

Hiruzen looked on in horror. Not only could this Cole person through some object hard enough to impale a person against a wall, he had also just did that to his friend, Alex!

"You just killed one of your comrades and you pretend like it's nothing!" yelled Hiruzen, visibly angry, his killing intent flooding out, towards Cole, who didn't even flinch.

"Alex, get down before you get me in trouble."

"Ah, dang it, I can't have any fun here, can I?!" grunted Alex as he pulled the Amp out of his body and threw it to the floor, the holes in his body healing until there was no sign of him ever being impaled.

Hiruzen stared on in shock.

"What the hell ARE you?" he asked.

"Alex mercer, future Genin of Konoha." laughed Alex as he took his hood off to reveal a very human face…..until you reached his teeth, which were sharp and serrated, like a sharks.

Hiruzen flinched and blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Alex was still there, grinning with normal, human teeth.

"Oh, so Desmond's Mystical age regression technique isn't worth watching, huh?" yelled Desmond, feeling left out.

Everyone laughed, including Hiruzen, although he did it hesitantly.

"Well, go on then, Dessie." taunted Cole.

"Call me that again and there will be a hidden blade right where the sun don't shine."

Desmond then closed his eyes and held the Shard of Eden in his hand, concentrating on it. Fifty seconds passed, and nothing happened.

"Huh, well maybe that di-" Whatever Desmond was going to say was cut off by the Shard glowing brightly, runes and sigils surrounding Desmond, spinning around him faster and faster. Suddenly they pulsed out in a brilliant flash of light, and everyone turned away. When the light died down, they all turned back, and there was Desmond, his body younger, and his clothes changed. Instead of his usual Hoodie and jeans, he wore an outfit similar to that of the younger Ezio, Complete with Large Black boots and pants, white shirt, and black vest. His hairstyle also changed to look like that of Ezio's ponytail. On the back of the vest was a hood, and on his belt was the insignia of the assassins.

"Huh….so, got younger, but also got Ezio's outfit…..nice! No drawbacks whatsoever!" exclaimed Desmond, happily clapping…until the hidden gun on his bracer went off and shot Cole in the stomach.

"Gahh, you bastard!"

"Oh shoot, Cole I'm sorry!" panicked Desmond, concerned.

Cole then stood up and brushed off his shirt. "Just because bullets don't hurt me as much doesn't mean you can just SHOOT me!"

"It was an accident!"

Hiruzen and his ANBU looked at each other before deciding in unison that it was better not to know.

"Gentleman, now that you are all at the appropriate age I'm certain we can squeeze you into the academy. But, when you make Genin you'll need a Jonin Sensei, and, we don't have one available….."

Alex, Cole and Desmond looked at each other. "Well, there IS someone available." started Alex.

"Who would that be, then?" asked Hiruzen.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Vergil blurred into view.

"That would be Me."

"Wha- You!"

The Hokage stood up in his chair, and his ANBU drew their weapons. Vergil only smirked.

"Now, you do remember how that went last time, right?" he asked.

Alex, Cole, and Desmond looked at each other confused, then watched on as the ANBU drew even closer together, ready to pounce.

"Halt." said Hiruzen, raising a hand. "That is enough."

The ANBU looked at each other, then at the Hokage, then at Vergil. They sheathed their weapons, but, kept their hands on them, weary of the newest arrival. Vergil slicked his hair back into its usual spiky manner.

"The next time you threaten me…you shall die."

A sudden, deathly chill breezed through the room, and the ANBU shuddered.

"If you're done antagonizing my ninja, how do you intend on becoming of Jonin rank before graduation?" asked Hiruzen.

"Wait, when is graduation?" asked Cole.

"In 1 year, and 2 months."

"Well then that's plenty of time, right?"

"No, as he would have to go through the ranks, which would require, of course, going through the academy. It's gonna be hell enough just getting you three in."

Vergil stood pondering, his features that of extreme concentration, before he, without moving, shot out one of his summoned swords at the window, causing a black blur to dodge and jump in. For the fourth time that day, the ANBU were at the ready, until the person revealed itself to be Jiraiya.

"Easy fellas, I just wanted to remind Sarutobi-Sensei of the Automatic Promotion exams."

"The what?" pondered Alex, curious.

Jiraiya looked at him, a frown on his face. "You look familiar, kid."

Alex scoffed, annoyed at being referred to as a kid, even though he was. "Whatever."

Jiraiya stared for a bit longer before turning away. "Anyways, I just so happened to arrive outside your window not five minutes ago and overheard you talking about someone not being able to become a Jonin, right?"

"Correct…" said Hiruzen, slowly.

"Well, I seem to remember a certain law, put into effect about three years ago….."


	4. Proving Time

Chapter 4: Combat Combo x2

Hokage's Tower

Hokage's Office

[Fast-Forwarding Memory to a more recent one]

Konoha

The Academy

"Okay, kids, listen up." called out Iruka, one of the sensei's at the academy. Of course that had little to no effect. So, he tried a different approach. "OI! SLACKERS! SIT DOWN AND SHUT YOUR FACES!" he yelled, utilizing a Genjutsu to make his head appear larger. This had the intended effect, and everyone quieted down, facing forward, looking like the perfect little students.

"Okay class, we have three new students, and they're going to introduce themselves."

At this murmurs and whispers alighted all along the classroom, curiosity clear upon all the students faces.

"Iruka-Sensei, where are they at, anyway?" asked a student.

"They should be here any minute now."

Suddenly the door slid open, and in strode the subjects of discussion. Alex was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Cole was grimacing, and Desmond was contemplating something.

"Alright then, boys, introduce yourselves." prompted Iruka

The three boys in question looked at each other, trying to force the other to go first with only piercing glares and pointed looks. Finally, Desmond relented, eager to sit down and resume his grenade blueprints.

"Hello, I'm Desmond Miles. Everything else about me is on a need to know basis and, quite frankly, I doubt any of you need to know."

Everyone stared at Desmond, curious about his statement. Iruka coughed, before sending him to sit in the back row, next to the window.

Next up, Alex cleared his throat, and spoke, saying, "My name is Alex Mercer. Don't question anything I say or do and we'll all get along fine. Get it?" Alex finished with a sinister smirk, before roaming off to sit next to Desmond.

"Ooookay….and you are?" Iruka deadpanned, looking at Cole. "Wait, you look kinda familiar…."

Cole looked him dead in the eye. "No I don't."

The two stared at each other. A tumbleweed bounded and bounced across the floor. The sun was intense, and people shielded their eyes, wondering how this genjutsu came to be. Then it was over, and the two looked away.

"My name is Cole Macgrath." he muttered, before sitting next to Alex.

Iruka and the rest of the students looked at each other, and then at the new people, who were whispering to each other. Iruka shrugged his shoulders. He'd met weirder people. Like Guy. Or Kakashi. Or Ebisu. Or Jiraiya.

"We have a lot of weird shinobi..." Iruka thought.

"Alright, everyone outside for a Taijutsu test!" said Iruka, moving on. The students all stood up, murmuring excitedly, following Iruka to the outside ring. Alex walked together with his new friends, Cole and Desmond, the three of them continuing their whispered conversation from class.

"I'm serious, what if it's something huge, like, some strange plan involving the moon and like, some giant multi-tailed creatures with limitless power? And some shadowy organization that wants to gather them all and fuse them to become some kind of god?" questioned Desmond.

[Elsewhere]

Obito Uchiha paused in his writing, having an odd feeling. He looked up, and, losing the feeling, he shrugged and returned to his papers. The masked man had to make sure the plan worked, at all costs.

[Konoha Shinobi Academy]

"No way that's possible. Let's stay within the land of reason, Des." said Cole, skeptically.

"Yeah, you're probably right." replied Desmond.

Alex just chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the very idea.

Soon the class arrived at the Spar-ring, ready and eager for the test to begin in the case of the guys, and in the case of the girls, ready to prove their worth to Sasuke.

"Okay, the rules are Taijutsu only. Use of weapons is not permitted, nor is the use of jutsu. If you fall out of the ring, you're out. If you're knocked out, you're out. This will be a series of three fights, in order to assess the skill level of our newest students."

"Alright, first fight, Sasuke vs Desmond."

The two walked into the ring, Sasuke smirking.

"You might as well give up now. I'm an Uchiha, the very elite, the best of the best. You're nobody, someone that would probably die on their first mission."

"From what I've heard, that's the very same feeling that got you embedded into a wall, right? Well, there are no walls here, but, I'll see what I can do for you."

At this, Sasuke snarled at Desmond, and Iruka started the match.

Sasuke raced at Desmond who just stood there. With all of his fan girls yelling and screaming his name, Sasuke attempted to spin kick Desmond in his face. Of course, this didn't work, as at the last second, Desmond rolled under the attack, before standing up, getting into Ezio's preferred fighting stance. Sasuke attempted a right hook, and Desmond slapped his hand downward, before backhanding him in one fluid motion. As Sasuke stumbled back, Desmond swept his legs from under him, and then kicked him in the stomach, sending him rolling out of the ring. At this, the crowd went silent, all of them staring at Desmond, and then at Sasuke. Then Alex burst out laughing, along with Cole.

"That was beautiful!" gasped out Alex between laughs. As Desmond walked back, to his spot he pushed Cole into the ring, and mimicked his voice, saying, "I volunteer!"

"Des what the hell?!" sputtered Cole, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

"That was for earlier, dirt bag!"

Iruka snorted, before asking, "who would like to challenge this volunteer?'

At this, the pink haired girl, Sakura Haruno, stepped forward.

"I'm going to beat you up for laughing at Sasuke-Kun!"

"Oh, well, he had it coming." responded Cole, unfazed.

"Round 3! Sakura vs Cole! Begin!"

Sakura charged.

Cole sighed, before catching the incoming fist mere inches in front of his face. This in itself elicited some gasps and gaping mouths, especially from those who have been on the receiving end of that world quaking punch. Sakura tried with her other fist, with the same result. "What the hell?! How are you doing that?!" she yelled, annoying Cole with her loud voice.

Instead of answering, Cole kicked her in the stomach, before grabbing and suplexing her. As she bounced back into the air, he turned and drop kicked her. She was unconscious before she even hit the ground.

"Winner by a rather vicious knockout, Cole!"

Cole smirked as Alex laughed even louder, before shooting a lightning hook at Alex, and then jumping over him, back to his spot.

"My turn, huh? Well, let's see who is stupid enough to-"

Alex was interrupted by Sakura's rival for Sasuke's affection, Ino, a blond with a long ponytail, wearing a purple outfit.

"Sakura was too weak to do anything to that weirdo, so, I guess I'll have to deal with you and regain my Sasuke-kun's honor!" she yelled, already in the standard academy Taijutsu stance.

As soon as the battle started, Alex merely stood still as Ino rushed up and punched him in the stomach over and over again. She stopped, and saw that it had no effect. So she redoubled her efforts, punching harder than she ever did before. Then, as she stopped to catch her breath, he finally moved, stooping down to look her in the face.

"Now, you do realize that that did absolutely nothing right? If that doesn't make you feel as weak and hopeless as you look, check this out."

Alex stepped back and stomped the ground, causing a tremor that brought almost everyone to the ground. Ino paled and promptly forfeit, stumbling and tripping in her attempt to flee from the inhumanly strong guy.

"O-okay, Taijutsu test is over, let's uh…let's get on inside…" said Iruka.

Chuckling, Desmond looked at Cole.

"I wonder how Vergil is faring."

[Location: Training Ground 7]

"Okay, so, the rules are simple, no one can go for the killing blow. This test is over when I say it is, however, once again, KILLING is NOT an OPTION. Understand?"

Vergil nodded his head, as did the four Jonin across from him. They were all standing in training field 7, in a clearing with three logs standing off to the side.

"Remind me why we thought this was a good idea? That guy's not going to have a chance against four of the best Jonin in Konoha!" said Jiraiya.

"He's Strong. We need to see how strong. Besides, if he gets too injured, we can halt the match."

"And if he dies before we can?"

"Then he wasn't strong enough. But that won't happen."

"In order to become a Jonin, Vergil, you must defeat at least two Jonin. In order to get paid, Jonin, you just need to defeat Vergil. Understand?" called out Sarutobi.

Everyone nodded once more, with the Jonin in green tights and orange legwarmers shouting something about youth and the flames therein.

"Ready and…begin!"

The man in the tights ran full tilt towards Vergil, leaping up for a dynamic entry into the fight. "The green Beast of Konoha, Taijutsu specialist Maito Guy! Dynamic Entry!"

A second before he would have been hit, Vergil blocked with Yamato's sheathe, and then hit Guy in the stomach with it, knocking him back.

"Yosh, not bad!" called out Guy, rushing back in. Vergil smirked, tying Yamato to his waist, and summoning Beowulf. Their fists slamming into each other's, the two men threw punch after punch, before pushing off of each other. From a distance, the two stared at each other. Then Guy rushed up, only to be hit hard by a fast roundhouse kick, followed up by a solid hit to his stomach. Vergil watched, satisfied, as guy flew into the forest. Vergil looked around, wondering when the rest of the contenders disappeared. Suddenly, detecting movement, Vergil rolled to the side, avoiding a fireball that slammed into the space where he just was.

"Ninjutsu Specialist, Hatake Kakashi." said the launcher of the aforementioned fireball, lazily, as he read a small orange book.

"You might want to put that book away and get serious." chided Vergil.

Kakashi looked up from his book, seemingly smiling with his one visible eye.

"Oh? And why would that be?" he casually called out.

His answer was Yamato pressed upon his neck, with ten summoned swords surrounding his mid-section.

"Don't be so cocky." Taunted Vergil, as Kakashi replaced himself with a nearby log.

"Fair enough." responded Kakashi, putting the book away and revealing his Sharingan eye, before getting into a ready stance. Vergil rushed forward with a Rapid Slash, which Kakashi just barely managed to dodge, using the aid of his implanted eye.

"How the hell is he so fast? The Sharingan barely saw even a flicker!" gulped Kakashi, before he rushed through some handsigns.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he called, before a heavy gust of wind pushed at Vergil, who merely crouched a bit, his hand on the hilt of Yamato, ready to draw. Suddenly, Vergil was behind Kakashi, sliding his blade back into it's sheathe. With a resounding clink, the sword was fully sheathed. In that moment, Kakashi fell forward, unconscious and covered in non fatal cuts..

"That's two. But if you come out of those bushes, I'll be glad to make it three." said Vergil, turning to face his next opponent. Out of the bushes came a woman wearing bandages and a dress as red as her irises.

"Not bad, I had a very powerful genjutsu up to hide myself. I am Yuuhi Kurenai, Genjutsu Mistress, and you are finished."

At this Vergil paused for a second. "But, I already got the Jonin status. Why would….oh, right, you get paid if you defeat me, regardless of how many of you I defeat. It's a survival exercise. How many can I beat? Well, the answer to that is….."

Vergil looked up, with a cold, cruel smirk on his face.

"I can beat all of you."

With those words spoken, Vergil quickly drew his sword and re-sheathed it. For a second, a purple orb surrounded Kurenai. During that second, white streaks could be seen inside the orb, after which the orb faded out. Kurenai stood still, and then slowly cuts and bruises began to appear on her skin. She fell backwards, bleeding heavily as Vergil called out, "Now, end this illusion so we can fight for real."

For Vergil, the world shattered, and reformed. Kurenai was standing, with a Kunai at Vergil's throat.

"How'd you know?" she asked, confused.

Vergil lightly chuckled before replying.

"I didn't."

With that, Vergil summoned several of his spectral swords, and had them spin around the two of them rapidly.

"He's insane, at that range, he'll be stabbed as well!" exclaimed Jiraiya, severely interested in the blue half-devil's tactic.

"Hmmm….maybe not." murmured Sarutobi in reply. Seeing the look on his student's face, he decided to elaborate.

"He doesn't seem like the type to just rush in without a plan. He's some sort of trick up his sleeve."

Vergil, hearing this, smiled.

"Not just any trick, but, a trick up."

Vergil raised his hand, summoning Beowulf ion the midst of the motion, and flared its light. Kurenai stumbled slightly, covering her eyes and dropping the kunai she was holding. Then Vergil teleported upwards, and fell down with a somersault-axe kick that closely resembled the different phases of the moon, knocking Kurenai out. Landing on his feet, Vergil felt his blood pumping faster than ever before, the thrill of the fight making the demon part of his blood boil.

"Now I'm motivated!"

"That's good." came a voice, before a katana stabbed through him, causing the spectators to gasp.

Vergil turned to look back at the perpetrator of his perforation, before walking forward off the blade, sending another chorus of gasps, startling the viewers with his durability.

"I've been stabbed by better." He whispered into his final opponent's ear, with a smirk, before kicking her away, summoned swords chasing after the oppressor. But Hayate was too fast, and avoided them.

"Kenjutsu Specialist, Hayate Gekko."

Vergil nodded, before preparing himself. Hayate charged forth, his speed surprising Vergil. With a swift swing, Hayate slashed at Vergil, his sword a blur to all but he and Vergil. A split second later, the resounding clash of swords rang out, over and over, the blades of the two swordsman striking each other blindingly fast. Both Vergil and Hayate jumped back at the same time. "Not bad!" Hayate called out.

"Same to you. We should do this again sometime. But for now, taste Judgment."

With these words, Vergil used his Judgment Cut, a purple orb appearing around Hayate. But Hayate quickly back flipped away, knowing what it could do. Vergil created another, then another, but Hayate dodged even those.

"Far too slow, Verge! You're gonna have to step it up if you want that to hit me!"

Vergil started at the nickname. Throughout the battle, he kept having flashbacks about his fight with Dante, just after they killed Arkham together. But the nickname...that put it all in perspective again. This wasn't his brother. This was someone who thought that they could beat him, and that just wouldn't do.

"Only one person may call me that. And he's not here right now. You're going down, and you'll not forget this Devil's power."

Hayate laughed. "Bring it on! I can take anything you've got!"

"Don't be so cocky."

With these four words, a demonic aura surrounded Vergil, and in a blue burst of energy, he Devil-triggered, becoming his alternate, more powerful demon self. Vergil roared, spreading his arms out, and disappeared. Hayate looked around, wondering where he went, before a purple orb surrounded him, then another and another. No matter where he went, one of those orbs slashed him. Hayate was sliced repeatedly, getting lifted into the air from the sheer force, before it stopped, and he fell back down.

Vergil reappeared, already in his human form, his back turned to Hayate. His sword, re-sheathed with a click, he walked away. Jiraiya ran over, and using shadow clones, picked up all of the downed fighters, bringing them to the hospital. Sarutobi stood still as Vergil approached him. "A bit of overkill, no?"

Vergil grabbed the Konoha headband from his hand, tying it around his arm.

"I showed SOME restraint...Hokage-sama."


	5. Mission Start! Again!

Chapter 5: Lessons Learned

Konoha

Desmond was a man of simple tastes. He didn't like things that were to flashy or too obvious, mostly due to his assassin training via Animus. So when he observed the tricks that these so called "ninja" do, called Jutsu, he wasn't too keen on learning. However, Iruka was not having it.

"Desmond, you have got to learn at least the three basic jutsu!"

Desmond scoffed at that. He didn't have chakra, nor did the other three that were with him. It'd be impossible to learn them. Though he had to admit, that "Body-Flicker" technique was pretty cool. He wasn't too crazy about the name, though. Staring at Iruka, he flatly told him what he was thinking. "I don't have chakra, Sensei."

The class gasped. No chakra? It was simply unheard of!

"How did you even get into the academy then?!"

"Yeah, you kinda need chakra to be a ninja!"

The class then broke out into further murmurs amongst themselves. Sasuke in particular was livid. He'd lost to a no name, clan-less, chakra less, loser?! It was impossible!

"To be fair, kids, there's a Genin from the last graduating class that doesn't have chakra either. It's extremely rare, but not unheard of." Iruka expounded. "However, to make up for it, he's an extremely powerful Taijutsu user. What can you do to make up for your lack of chakra?" he asked Desmond, curious.

Desmond didn't hesitate to respond by revealing his hidden blade. "I am an Assassin. Silence is my body and stealth is my blood."

Iruka stared at the weapon. It seemed to be a dagger shethed in a bracer of sorts, theat slid out when a certain hand movement was made. All in all it seemed to be a very stealthy weapon, and those that enjoyed stealth were impressed by its design. "Alright Desmond, I'll allow it. You aren't the first chakra-less person I've taught." 

Desmond nodded and returned to his book. Iruka, hearing the soft sounds of snoring, turned and saw Cole sleeping. Sighing he walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. Or at least attempted to, as the instant his hand neared Cole he got zapped, not enough to harm but enough to sting. He attempted again only to get the same result, until finally he decided to just yell really loud.

"COLE MACGRATH YOU WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!" he bellowed, a righteous fury overwhelming him.

This, however, had no effect on the thoroughly peaceful Cole, who had slept in Empire City, where gunshots and explosions were basically nonstop, and in New Marais, which, to be fair, was probably worse. A man yelling was nothing compared to an explosion about thirty feet below you. Really the only thing that could wake Cole up was-

Iruka splashed a bucket of water on Cole. This had two effects. One, the intended goal of waking Cole up was reached. Two, the unintended goal of electrocuting himself was too, as as soon as the water hit Cole, he started to violently spark. Naturally, the sensation of electricity leaving his body woke him up. Grunting and ignoring the pain, he slowly froze every droplet in ice, causing him to stop sparking.

"Why would you splash the guy practically made of electricity with water?" Cole asked, thoroughly annoyed. It didn't hurt as much nowadays, but water was still painful for him. Iruka looked at him sheepishly. Then what Cole said clicked.

"Made out of electricity?" he asked. Cole raised a hand and tried to make a ball of electricity, but all he got was a few sparks. He chuckled and called out to Desmond, who looked at him, nodded, then tossed his bag to him. Opening the bag, Cole found what he was looking for: A prototype infinite electricity battery Desmond was making. Holding it in one hand, he used the other to draw out electricity from it, charging and revitalising himself, eliciting shocked gasps from the class. He then raised his hand and made lightning move from his fingertips to his elbow and back, then shot a bolt into the ceiling. Iruka openly stared at where the bolt had hit, then turned back to look at Cole, who had somehow gotten rid of the ice and was now returning Desmonds bag to it's owner, battery safely stowed. Iruka, defeated, just turned and walked back to the front, before stopping next to Alex.

"Should I expect any odd tricks from you too?" he asked.

Alex merely grinned, an unnerving smile with razor sharp teeth that went from ear to ear. Iruka blinked and when his eyes opened, the smile on Alex's face was completely normal. Iruka walked back and continued the lecture, slowly counting the days until graduation day.

[After school]

As the bell rang, Cole, Alex and Desmond were the first one's out, talking together about various things. They were stopped in the school yard, however, by Sasuke, his fangirls squealing at how cool he looked standing in the path waiting.

"Hey, you, loser with the hood." he stated simply.

Alex and Desmond looked at each other, both wearing hoods.

"He's talking to you."

"No, no, he said Loser, Alex. So you."

"Awww, is little Dessie still mad at me for being better than stealth then him?"

"Better at stea- Now you look here you sick son of a-"

Sasuke, annoyed at being ignored, threw a rock that hit Desmond in the back of the head mid-insult. This caused desmond to look at him, annoyed. Sasuke smirked. "That's right, look at your superiors when they speak, you chakra-less fool. I am an Uchiha, the greatest of the great."

"And I am an Assassin, the killer of the great." Desmond shot back.

Sasuke, annoyed, charged at him, eager to reclaim his lost honor. He was stopped in his tracks by Alex, who stepped in his way. Sasuke attempted to move him, but to no avail.

"Out of my way, freak!"

Alex laughed, and spun kicked Sasuke into his fangirls. Enraged, Sasuke leapt up and launched his family's technique, the Goukakyuu no jutsu. This was promptly deflected by Cole, who leapt in front of it and used his Frost Shield, this time deflecting it to the side. It harmlessly exploded over a lake, causing a small shower of pretty colors. This gave Sasuke an idea. He sprinted towards Desmond, who prepped himself to deflect the blow. However, at the last second, Sasuke switched targets, and using a chakra enhanced punch, knocked Desmond over the gate and into training ground 35, which was basically used for water walking and Suiton training. In simpler terms, Training Ground 35 was a deep lake. In the seconds before he splashed down into it, all Cole could think was...

"Not again..."

A plume of water rose up from where Cole landed in the water. Then the electricity started. The entire lake was aglow, arcs and streams of electricity bouncing and dancing across it. Everyone stared, wide-eyed, at the sheer amount of electricity everywhere. People's hair started to rise, and animals scattered. Alex turned, furious, and punched Sasuke into a tree. He and desmond then ran towards the lake, hoping to save their friend.

[With Cole]

All he could feel was pain. Well, that and the sensation of being drained. As he slowly drifted down into the depths, he thought of everyone he held dear, from Trish, to Zeke, Kuo and even Nix. He then thought about his new friends. "Guess it's all over before it even started huh guys?"

His eyes closed, and all he saw was darkness. He didn't notice the blast core that he had landed on, nor did he notice it get absorbed into him. He did notice, however, the voice of someone he thought he'd left behind long ago.

"The MG Gauntlet has been successfully added onto you. Power level rising, 79%. 100%. Water shield active. Looking good, Cole."

Feeling the pain and drain stop, Cole looked at his right arm, and there he saw it: Kessler's Gauntlet. As he stared in shock, a blue sheen traveled from the arm to his entire body, enveloping him. Cole could no longer feel the water, and could also breathe again. Laughing deliriously, he flexed his hands, then clenched them into fists. Raising them above his head, he swung them down.

[Surface]

Alex and Desmond, alongside Vergil and the Sandaime, stared at the lake, electricity still flowing over it. Just as Desmond was about to say something, the electricity stopped flowing outward, and started gathering at the center of the lake. "What the..." uttered Hiruzen, thoroughly surprised. A giant thunderbolt slammed directly into the center of the lake, sending everyone except for those who braced themselves flying back. The thunderbolt continued, heaven's fury beating down upon the lake. Slowly, a form began to rise, arms out like an angry god of lightning. Cole's hand rose, all the electricity flowing into his gauntlet. He stood on the lake, glowing a bright, ethereal, electric blue. Slowly he walked across the lake, each step causing a flash of lightning in the he stood in front of the four men, his power overflowing. Slowly, the ethereal glow ceased, and the orbs on the gauntlet shone, before calming down. If one looked carefully, they could see a small thunderstorm in each of the two orbs.

"Hey guys." Cole smiled casually, before passing out.

[Meanwhile]

Location: The Black Realm

The Demon, The Half-Devil, The Virus, and The Assassin, looked at each other, contemplative.

"Screw it, I'm in!" yelled the Half-devil.

"I don't see why not, not like there's anything else to do, anyway." added the Demon, sinister red lightning flashing from his arms.

"Same here, I'm all in." said the Assassin as he holstered his pistol.

Everyone looked at the Virus.

"Aw hell, why not? Nothing left for me back there anyway..." he said.

The White Being looked down at the four. "This will not be easy, you know. In fact, it will be far from it. Are you certain?" he asked, cautiously.

The four nodded their agreement.

"Then i wish you the best of luck."

The assembled men grinned and looked at each other.

"So you ready to kick some ass?" asked the Virus

"You know it, I'm all locked and loaded." replied the Devil Hunter

"Heh, oh, these people are going to feel this power..." said the Demon, lightning playing through his fingers.

The Assassin just put his hood on and smirked.

"Alright, it is time." said the Being. "Enjoy your trip."

The virus looked around and said, "Okay, then how will we get the-"

But he didn't get to finish as suddenly, they were falling.

"Oh, well, this is one way, i guess..." said James Heller, Blacklight Virus.

"Sweet, baby! Let's get this party started!" whooped Dante, the Red-Clad Devil Hunter.

"Like lightning, let us fall!" chuckled Cole Macgrath, the Beast's Reincarnation.

"This ought to be interesting." said Clay Kaczmerak, The 16th subject.

The four fell like meteors, landing not too far from each other in a small clearing in a forest, startling the nearby animals. "Hey, Macgrath, you sense anything nearby?"

"Nothing coming up on my pulse. What's the plan?" Cole asked, ready to begin.

"First we need a base of operations. Obviously we're sitting ducks here. Then after we get that done, we find out where we are." responded Clay.

A rustling behind them caught their attention. Out of the bushes came twelve bandits, armed to the teeth. "Well well well..." chuckled the leader. I was expecting some meteorite or something to dig up and cash in, and here I find some weak looking freaks. Oh well, we'll still get paid for your equipment. Hand over all your valuables!"

Dante put his head in one of his hands, the other reaching for Rebellion. "We literally just got here and already it's getting crazy!"

Before Dante could do anything, however, Cole walked forward towards the bandits. This had the effect of said group looking at him incredulously, ultimately leading to the entire group laughing.

"Hah, this fool thinks he can take us on! Bring it, Baldy! I'll enjoy counting out your coin!"

Cole didn't respond, only smirking as he leapt into the middle of the bandits. Flinging his arms wide open, a dome of energy erupted out of him, sucking out the bio-electric energy of the bandits so fast, that if one looked closely, they could see even the skeletons of the bandits, like an x-ray. Cole stood up straight, ceasing his display of power as the bandits fell to the ground, lifeless. Cole jovially walked back over to his new comrades, refreshed by his favorite attack, the Ionic Drain. Dante stared at him, then started laughing and clapping, while clay said nothing. They all then noticed that Heller was missing. Looking around they finally found him, embedded in a tree head first, struggling to get out. Before they could move to assist him, however, he ripped the tree out of the ground and split it in half with sheer strength, throwing the two halves away. Brushing himself off, he walked past the group, glaring at whoever attempted to say anything.

"Those bandits probably had a base nearby. Let's look for it and take it over.

[Fast Forwarding Memory to a more recent one]

After locating the cave that the bandits used as their hideout and clearing it out of any remaining bandits, the team sat around a fire, preparing their next move. Dante looked around the fire and studied his companions, he decided that they would need to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. He would, after all, be working with these people, and it would be helpful to know what they can do.

"James, what can you do? Like all your powers and stuff?"

James, seeing where Dante was heading with it, nodded his head. "I can absorb people and become them, turn my hands into claws, shields, a big ass sword, and weird tendril things, as well as big muscle things."

Dante and Cole whistled. They could appreciate the ability to transform into anything. Clay just nodded his head. Next Dante turned to Cole. "What about you?"

"I can drain electricity from anything, be it a triple-A battery or a lightning bolt, or even a person or animal. And I can use said lightning in any way I see fit, from mobility to combat to defense."

"Nice, nice. And you, Clay?"

Clay didn't turn away from the cave entrance, opting to speak over his shoulder to his new comrades.

"I am an Assassin." at that, Clay stopped and continued his vigil, watching over the entrance.

"Whoa, what about you whitey locks? What do you got?!"

Dante smirked and shook his head. "I have a massive array of weapons but I mostly rely on my babies here, Ebony and Ivory," With that he held up his two pistols, and put them back in their holsters. The motioning towards his blade he smiled. "This is my primary weapon, Rebellion. But yeah, I have those three and a whole host of other effects."

The men looked at each other and nodded, the new knowledge of their team slowly sinking in. Each man went back to their own thing, mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming adventure.


End file.
